Need help troubleshooting Keyless System Malfunction after disconnecting Fortin Evo-One

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2019 CX-9 Signature
Hi Everyone,

I've been trying to troubleshoot my 2019 CX9 @47k miles the whole day today. Just little history I had my Fortin Evo-One with T-harness installed myself last March and changed the car battery shortly after.

So the story began yesterday I went to do the NYS annual inspection and to my surprise the car failed the emission inspection. The results showed
Emission Readiness - Fail
Monitor Catalyst - Not Ready
Monitor EVAP - Not Ready


The guy at shop adviced me to drive the car more to reset cycle after changing battery. But the battery was changed few thousand miles ago. I also drove 3 hours that morning (about 40 miles and some idling) before going to the inspection. I googled and found a thread about Fortin remote start resets the ECU and the guy also failed the emission test because of it. evo-one resets Engine computer after remote start - Questions & Answers


This morning the first thing I did was to disconnect the Fortin Evo One and revert back to factory to try to perform drive cycle reset. I was being dumb that I disconnected the Fortin cables and reconnected to factory without disconnecting the battery first.

When I try to start the car it immediately gave me the Keyless System Malfunction and AFS System Malfunction (Auto Turning Headlight). The car won't respond to the keyfob or the door button. I also suspected if it was my bluetooth ODBII scanner that I forgot to remove overnight that it drained the battery. I could start the car fine by putting the keyfob next to the push button. I went to Autozone next to have a battery check because last time I got this error was bad battery. They checked and the battery is in good health (12.7v cold? ODBII showed 13.8v when car is running). I was able to unlock the car with my keyfob first thing in the morning before all these.

These are the things I tried and no luck.
- Car battery tested at Autozone
- Both Keyfob battery replaced
- Checked all 7.5/10/15/20/25/30 fuses
- Disconnected battery negative terminal for some time. (Twice, once 20 minutes and once an hour)
- Connecting the Fortin back (Keyless malfunction still presents with the Fortin reconnected)
- Started the car by placing keyfob next to the Push Button and drove 30 minutes twice. With some highways. I was able to get the Catalyst monitor ready but not EVAP. Somehow the TPMS light came on mid-drive but I checked the tire pressure after and they are all good at 36psi.

Below are the errors showing on my dash. I can take a photo later.
- Keyless System Malfuntion (once I step on the brake)
- Headlight icon in yellow (AFS Malfunction - it depends on steering input)
- TPMS
- The icon looks like a light bulb next to the TPMS
- The alert icon. Triangle with a ! in the middle.

I'm pretty confused right now. I googled and read every threads regarding this error and tried most stuff.
Now my 2nd to last resort is to disconnect the battery negative terminal for a longer period of time. Like 6 hours maybe? I'll reconnect and try again tonight.
I also completely removed the Fortin module and reverted to factory connection. Also made sure all connection is tight.

I feel like if I can't get this resolved by tomorrow I will have to take it to dealer and also get the emission issue fixed.
Thanks for reading. Let me know if you have any advice.
 
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My guess is that you fried your start module. I hate to say that, but they are really sensitive.
 
My guess is that you fried your start module. I hate to say that, but they are really sensitive.
Thanks for the idea. I guess I will have to take it in and check if I can't get it figured out by tomorrow. I hope it's not some expensive parts...
 
I've been looking at other threads. Apparently the Fortin Evo-one is just a real POS. We aren't the only ones that have had weird electrical issues with it.

With mine, when I tried to contact Fortin, they pretty much told me to pound sand, too. Luckily my errors were only 28 days after installing it, so I was able to return it and get my money back.
 
In case if I'm bringing it to the dealership. Since my car is already past the factory warranty I guess it's ok to tell them the true story that I may have ****** up by unplugged the harness before disconnecting the battery?
 
Absolutely. Don't hide anything from them, you need to give them the whole story so they can know what to hone in on and get it fixed as quickly as possible.

The more time they have diagnosing it, the more it's going to cost.
 
Hi Everyone,

I've been trying to troubleshoot my 2019 CX9 @47k miles the whole day today. Just little history I had my Fortin Evo-One with T-harness installed myself last March and changed the car battery shortly after.

So the story began yesterday I went to do the NYS annual inspection and to my surprise the car failed the emission inspection. The results showed
Emission Readiness - Fail
Monitor Catalyst - Not Ready
Monitor EVAP - Not Ready


The guy at shop adviced me to drive the car more to reset cycle after changing battery. But the battery was changed few thousand miles ago. I also drove 3 hours that morning before going to the inspection. I googled and found a thread about Fortin remote start resets the ECU and the guy also failed the emission test because of it. evo-one resets Engine computer after remote start - Questions & Answers


This morning the first thing I did was to try to disconnect the Fortin Evo One and revert back to factory to try to perform drive cycle reset. I was being dumb I disconnected the Fortin cables and reconnected to factory without disconnecting the battery first.

When I try to start the car it immediately gave me the Keyless System Malfunction and AFS System Malfunction (Auto Turning Headlight). The car won't respond to the keyfob or the door button. I also suspected if it was my bluetooth ODBII scanner that I forgot to remove overnight that it drained the battery. I could start the car fine by putting the keyfob next to the push button. I went to Autozone next to have a battery check because last time I got this error was bad battery. They checked and the battery is in good health (12.7v cold? ODBII showed 13.8v when car is running).

These are the things I tried and no luck.
- Car battery tested at Autozone
- Both Keyfob battery replaced
- Checked all 7.5/10/15/20/25/30 fuses
- Disconnected battery negative terminal for an hour and reconnect. (Twice)
- Connecting the Fortin back
- Started the car by placing keyfob next to the Push Button and drove 30 minutes twice. With some highways. I was able to get the Catalyst monitor ready but not EVAP. Somehow the TPMS light came on mid-drive but I checked the tire pressure after and they are all good at 36psi.

Below are the errors showing on my dash. I can take a photo later.
- Keyless System Malfuntion (once I step on the brake)
- Headlight light in yellow
- TPMS
- The icon looks like a light bulb next to the TPMS
- The alert icon. Triangle with a ! in the middle.

I'm pretty confused right now. I googled and read every threads regarding this error and tried most stuff.
So now my 2nd to last resort is to disconnect the battery negative terminal for a longer period of time. Like 6 hours maybe? I'll reconnect and try again tonight.
I also completely removed the Fortin module and reverted to factory connection. Also made sure all connection is tight.

I feel like if I can't get this resolved by tomorrow I will have to take it to dealer and also get the emission issue fixed.
Thanks for reading. Let me know if you have any advice.
I'll try to help. If the following suggestions do not work, then you will be forced to take the car to the dealer to have diagnosed, but this is all you can do yourself.

1) replace the battery with a known good one regardless of whether your current battery tested ok from AutoZone. There are many different tests that can be performed on a battery and a simple scan by a parts store does not tell the whole story of a battery, even if only a year old. I would either take it out and bring it to another store and tell them you need it replaced under warranty due to internal short in one of the cells under certain conditions. If you need to tell them that you paid the dealer to diagnose it, they shouldn't have a problem. They may not even ask but I would be insistent on it being replaced regardless if they want to test it again. If you don't want to do that then go to Costco and buy a new one. They are the cheapest. The majority of electrical issues stem from a simple thing like a bad battery. Today's electronics are super sensitive and a minor voltage or amperage fluctuation can wreak havoc on the computer modules in the car.

After you replace the battery, if problems still persist, you need to get a hold of a semi pro scan tool such as a $300 to $400 Autel to fully erase and reset some of the modules with tripped DTC's in the car. A regular $30 tool won't do it. Consider keeping the tool for the future if you purchase one, it will pay for itself. Some of the little more expensive ones can even program new key fobs to your car if you lose or break one. The dealer would charge $400 alone for a new fob and programming.

Take the car out for a good 30 minute+ drive on the highway at 60+ mph for a about 20 miles. Do that a few times over the next few days. That will enable the ready monitors for the evap system.
 
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I'll try to help. If the following suggestions do not work, then you will be forced to take the car to the dealer to have diagnosed, but this is all you can do yourself.

1) replace the battery with a known good one regardless of whether your current battery tested ok from AutoZone. There are many different tests that can be performed on a battery and a simple scan by a parts store does not tell the whole story of a battery, even if only a year old. I would either take it out and bring it to another store and tell them you need it replaced under warranty due to internal short in one of the cells under certain conditions. If you need to tell them that you paid the dealer to diagnose it, they shouldn't have a problem. They may not even ask but I would be insistent on it being replaced regardless if they want to test it again. If you don't want to do that then go to Costco and buy a new one. They are the cheapest. The majority of electrical issues stem from a simple thing like a bad battery. Today's electronics are super sensitive and a minor voltage or amperage fluctuation can wreak havoc on the computer modules in the car.

After you replace the battery, if problems still persist, you need to get a hold of a semi pro scan tool such as a $300 to $400 Autel to fully erase and reset some of the modules with tripped DTC's in the car. A regular $30 tool won't do it. Consider keeping the tool for the future if you purchase one, it will pay for itself. Some of the little more expensive ones can even program new key fobs to your car if you lose or break one. The dealer would charge $400 alone for a new fob and programming.

Take the car out for a good 30 minute+ drive on the highway at 60+ mph for a about 20 miles. Do that a few times over the next few days. That will enable the ready monitors for the evap system.
Thanks for the input. I'll keep in mind about the EVAP system.

For the battery, the car started and drove fine with the keyfob next to the push button to start. Most things worked fine except the remote keyfob. Headlights (turns on but won't turn with steering), blinkers, HVAC, etc all working as intended. But won't respond to keyfob buttons.

Last time my battery like gone bad my dash was lite up like Christmas tree (including the keyless system malfunction) and it wouldn't start with keyfob next to push button. New battery fixed everything last time.

Do you think battery is likely the case despite above?

I'm going to have my last try right now to reconnect the battery. It's been disconnected for 4 hours now. If it still doesn't work probably dealership is my next stop.
 
Thanks for the input. I'll keep in mind about the EVAP system.

For the battery, the car started and drove fine with the keyfob next to the push button to start. Most things worked fine except the remote keyfob. Headlights (turns on but won't turn with steering), blinkers, HVAC, etc all working as intended. But won't respond to keyfob buttons.

Last time my battery like gone bad my dash was lite up like Christmas tree (including the keyless system malfunction) and it wouldn't start with keyfob next to push button. New battery fixed everything last time.

Do you think battery is likely the case despite above?

I'm going to have my last try right now to reconnect the battery. It's been disconnected for 4 hours now. If it still doesn't work probably dealership is my next stop.
Alrighty, heres my opinion. Yes, I would change that battery and do a little prayer. A bad battery can still start the car but not be able to power up sensitive electronics and modules that the car needs to run properly. It's worth a shot before you commit to the dealer. Do you know what any of the stats were on the battery when AutoZone tested it? What was the measured CCAs, how much capacity of charge did it have? Etc.

My first suggestion is to make sure you have the factory harnesses in the steering column fully seated and clicked in. It's imperative both of them are nice and tight. It may seem like they are but they may need to be pushed in just a few millimeters more for that audible click to happen.. They ARE a snug fit that's takes a little force to properly seat. I've done it so I know.

I'm assuming you have removed the T-harness from the Fortin and are back to stock yes?

Which battery terminal did you disconnect to leave off for hours...negative or positive or both?

If no resolve then replace battery as above.

If no resolve after that then you need to have a full module scan and clear with a good scan tool to reset.

That triangle with the exclamation point is the master alert light which illuminates whenever there is an active DTC. A proper scan tool can clear the active, pending and history trouble codes which resets the computer modules to a non fault state. Sometimes 2 or 3 lights come on all together showing different faults even though there is a dtc set by only a single module so fixing or clearing that fault can clear the other lights automatically.

Also make sure you have the box checked for the headlights turning in the menu.

Let us know!
 
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Here’s my 2 cents. I bought an AutoZone battery on one of my previous vehicles because it was 4 houses away from me and I needed it to get to work. 11 months later, I was having weird electrical issues and the occasional difficult start. Brought it back to AutoZone and they said it was fine. Brought it to a different one and the test came back as a bad battery and replaced it under warranty. It’s the only battery I had that was replaced under warranty and only one replaced in under 3 years. Sometimes, coincidence makes for some difficult diagnoses. If a new battery results in the same issues, then you probably fried something
 
Here’s my 2 cents. I bought an AutoZone battery on one of my previous vehicles because it was 4 houses away from me and I needed it to get to work. 11 months later, I was having weird electrical issues and the occasional difficult start. Brought it back to AutoZone and they said it was fine. Brought it to a different one and the test came back as a bad battery and replaced it under warranty. It’s the only battery I had that was replaced under warranty and only one replaced in under 3 years. Sometimes, coincidence makes for some difficult diagnoses. If a new battery results in the same issues, then you probably fried something
Thanks for the input. I will try go back to Autozone and see if they can let me try a new battery under warranty. The soonest dealership appointment is 2 weeks out anyways.
 
Alrighty, heres my opinion. Yes, I would change that battery and do a little prayer. A bad battery can still start the car but not be able to power up sensitive electronics and modules that the car needs to run properly. It's worth a shot before you commit to the dealer. Do you know what any of the stats were on the battery when AutoZone tested it? What was the measured CCAs, how much capacity of charge did it have? Etc.

My first suggestion is to make sure you have the factory harnesses in the steering column fully seated and clicked in. It's imperative both of them are nice and tight. It may seem like they are but they may need to be pushed in just a few millimeters more for that audible click to happen.. They ARE a snug fit that's takes a little force to properly seat. I've done it so I know.

I'm assuming you have removed the T-harness from the Fortin and are back to stock yes?

Which battery terminal did you disconnect to leave off for hours...negative or positive or both?

If no resolve then replace battery as above.

If no resolve after that then you need to have a full module scan and clear with a good scan tool to reset.

That triangle with the exclamation point is the master alert light which illuminates whenever there is an active DTC. A proper scan tool can clear the active, pending and history trouble codes which resets the computer modules to a non fault state. Sometimes 2 or 3 lights come on all together showing different faults even though there is a dtc set by only a single module so fixing or clearing that fault can clear the other lights automatically.

Also make sure you have the box checked for the headlights turning in the menu.

Let us know!

Thank you for the advice. The AZ girl used a quite big battery tester I'm not sure how capable it is. She had me turn off the car to test and I saw the reading showed "Good Health" and 12.71v. CCA was 640 I saw her put that in.

This is the battery that I have. Duralast Gold.

Earlier this evening after I disconnected the negative terminal, I reconnected the under steering harness to make sure they are tight. They all had the click sound. Also checked all the mini fuses from both fuse panels.

I now have reverted everything to stock. Just to not make things more complicated if I bring it to the dealership.
 
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For the record, if you have a fried module anywhere in the vehicle because you didn’t remove the negative terminal from a battery when you re-seated a plug, that’s an absolutely asinine design on Mazda’s part. So stupid if that’s what it ends up being.
 
Just an update. I reconnected the negative terminal after 4 hours and no luck. Car still won't respond to keyfob so I had to lock/unlock with the physical key. Got in the car after the dash screen showed it reboot few times and showed the same Keyless System Malfunction as I step on the brake or press the ignition button.

I was able to start the car and drove it quite a bit. Like an hour mostly highway about 15-20 miles or so. EVAP monitor still not ready. Attached couple photos of the dash with the lights and the infotainment message.

So far everything is working except anything that has to do with the keyfob or remote. Headlight works but no longer adaptive. TPMS light is on but all tire pressure is normal around 36psi.

Since the car is still technically drivable I guess it's not the end of the world yet. With the soonest dealership appointment being 2 weeks out I'm going to try few more things in the mean time. Please let me know if you have any idea.
 

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For the record, if you have a fried module anywhere in the vehicle because you didn’t remove the negative terminal from a battery when you re-seated a plug, that’s an absolutely asinine design on Mazda’s part. So stupid if that’s what it ends up being.
Yea and I afraid I may have just did that...

Come to think of it, I was able to unlock the car via keyfob first thing in the morning so I could access the Fortin harness to disconnect. And by forgetting to disconnect the battery everything went south from there.
 
Feeling dumber now that I just learned the emission inspection allows one system to be not ready to pass. I had 2 systems not ready due to Fortin remote start reseted the ECU. All I had to do was to drive a bit and re-start the car normally to get the Catalyst monitor ready and ignore the EVAP.

Now I bricked the car for no reason. FML.
 
Come to think of it, I don’t recall removing either terminal from my battery when I installed the Evo. I was in an AirBnB at the time and didn’t have all my tools with me so didn’t want the hassle. I don’t quite understand how uninstalling that would have caused all these issues. What code scanner do you have? One of mine can read just drivetrain related codes while my other one can read everything as well as reset even saved codes and test individual actuators and such. Both made by the same company but one just isn’t capable of reading Mazdas very well
 
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